The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Hokie Hero program started in 2006 by IMG College and sponsored by the University Bookstore, honors Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets alumni who are currently deployed. Recipients of this honor are highlighted by Bill Roth and Mike Burnop during the radio broadcast of Virginia Tech football games, on the Corps of Cadets website, on the Corps of Cadets alumni website, and in the Corps Review magazine.

Goodwillie is currently deployed to Southwest Asia as a C-17 Globemaster III pilot and Aircraft Commander with the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, U.S. Air Force. He is permanently stationed in Charleston, S.C., and this is his third combat deployment. Goodwillie is a Class of 2005 graduate of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets and he served on 3rd Battalion staff his senior year.

Goodwillie says he sends his love to his wife Jackie, also a Class of 2005 graduate of Virginia Tech, and their son Colin, as well as all his family and friends living in Pennsylvania.

The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets has produced military, public, and corporate leaders since the university was founded in 1872. It is one of just two military corps within a large public university. The corps holds its members to the highest standards of loyalty, honor, integrity, and self-discipline. In return, cadets achieve high academic success and a long-lasting camaraderie with fellow members. Virginia Tech, the most comprehensive university in Virginia, is dedicated to quality, innovation, and results to the commonwealth, the nation, and the world.